Charlotte is a consultant in the Pensions team. She advises clients on a range of issues alongside a strategic role in thought leadership, client relationship management and business development.
Charlotte joined Travers Smith in 2014 from The Pensions Regulator (TPR). She has particular expertise in the legal aspects of employer covenant and TPR's powers. She also has an interest in defined contribution (DC) and master trusts.
At the Pensions Regulator, Charlotte advised on major developments in defined benefit (DB) legislative change, strategy and operations between 2007 and 2014. These included the new clearance guidance and policy, major changes to anti-avoidance powers, the Regulator's input into employer debt legislation, the Regulated Apportionment Arrangement statement and policy, the importance of statutory "employer" definitions and other legal aspects of covenant, policy responses to market developments (including asset-backed-contributions), and responses to Lehman, Bonas and other judgments. She was also involved in a number of high-profile anti-avoidance and other cases.
Charlotte chaired The Pensions Regulator's DB and DC legal team for many years and as part of the DB Management Team she advised executive directors and senior colleagues on aspects of DB regulation as well as on TPR-wide strategic matters. On legislative change she consulted with industry bodies and other stakeholders, and worked closely with government, the Pension Protection Fund and parliamentary counsel. She spoke regularly at conferences and other events.
Charlotte trained and qualified at another leading City practice, where she advised trustee, employer and private equity clients on the full range of pensions issues, including corporate transactions with a pension scheme focus.
Charlotte is a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers, the DC Governance Group, and a subgroup of the Pensions Regulator's D&I working group. Charlotte contributed to the PLSA Diversity and Inclusion Made Simple Guide and the DC Governance Group/PLSA DC Chair's Statement Drafting Template and has contributed several articles to pensions and legal publications. She is also a member of Travers Smith's Gender Balance and Enable Groups. And she is part of the Travers Smith team providing award-winning advice to Refugees at Home, a charity which was set up in close partnership with the firm's CSR Programme.